If you speak to any manager in England, from Sven to Houllier, from Arsene to Sir Alex, they will all tell you that England has a crop of young players of which we can be extremely proud.

On the eve of the new Premier League season TheFA.com's Lawrie Madden caught up with the then FA Technical Director Howard Wilkinson who picked out six with the potential to go all the way.

Here are his six of the best...

Wayne Rooney (Striker, Everton - England Under 17 cap)

Howard's Assessment: "For once Everton fans have a home grown player who can go someway to address the balance over the other side of the road. At his age he is the type of player Michael Owen was at the same age. At sixteen, he is unbelievable for his age.

"David [MOYES] will be torn apart and will have to decide how to use him and how much to use him, that is the big question. You have to recognise that the Premiership produces athletes who are fully mature and developed and the training and preparation means that by the age of 23, 24, or 25 they are men. There is no way an adolescent can cope so it is a science and an art when to put them into the team.

"He can score goals for fun, he has impressive pace and the Everton fans will be drooling over him. Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson and Gerard Houllier may have the chance to be patient but David may not be in the same position."

Jermane Pennant (Right winger, Arsenal - England Under-21 cap)

Howard's Assessment: "He made his debut at 16 which is not always a good thing because expectations are high and players need time to settle in. He is also with Arsenal and they have a very talented group of players that he has to overcome to break into the first team. But he is an exciting talent, there is no doubt about that.

"He has loads of pace, good control, difficult to tie down. He probably does not score as many goals as he would like - that might be something to work on.

"He is a winger and it is a position that takes a bit of learning - sometimes you are out of the game and you have to try and get yourself into the game.

"Clubs like Arsenal and Manchester United can shield their players a bit from the real world at times so the fact he went on loan to Watford last season will have down him no harm whatsoever.

"He's played for the England Under 21s and he's learning to be a member of a team which can often be more tricky as a winger."

Zat Knight (Centre Half/Midfielder, Fulham - England Under 21 cap)

Howard's Assessment: "He is a fantastic talent. He has a Portuguese connection and I think he had a trial with Benfica.

"His progress last season was rapid. He got into the Under 21s and I saw him play against Portugal last summer and I thought he was man of the match.

"He is a good example of the need to be sensitive about development over players. He is 22 years of age and if he had been somewhere else he may have been in the team by now but may have not been ready.

"He is quick, good on the ball and he has an eye on where to be when there is danger. He will be a valuable player for Jean Tigana.

"I think it is a terrific idea to play in all positions. What strikes you from the World Cup is that the best teams have players in the best positions but if they had to play in other positions they would still be comfortable. I don't think it does any harm to expose them to different positions."

Jermaine Jenas (Central Midfielder, Newcastle United - England Under 21 cap)

Howard's Assessment: "He is a fantastic talent. He is lucky in the sense that he started out at Forest and got his chance of getting into the team earlier and in a situation where he was not dealing week in and week out with teams like Arsenal and Manchester United.

"That gave him a bit of breathing space and allowed him more experience of first team football which would have been of help to him.

"I said to Bob [Robson] that as he physically develops it will make a big difference. He is a big, strong boy who can get up and down and see a pass. Along with the Portuguese youngster Viana at Newcastle, it will be interesting to see if they develop together or whether one will pull ahead of the other.

Carlton Cole (Striker, Chelsea - England Under 19 cap)

Howard's Assessment: "He is another big lad who knows where the goals are and had done well in pre-season. He has come on leaps and bounds in the last 12 months.

"He maybe will make more appearances than anyone. He has featured in pre-season quite a bit and has a good scoring record.

"Like Michael Owen he has a fantastic scoring record in junior football."

Steven Taylor (Centre Half, Newcastle United - England Under 17 captain)

Howard's Assessment: "Bob [ROBSON] won't thank me for this but Steve Taylor looks a prospect. In fact, he is the best prospect I've seen as a centre half at this age.

"He has already played captained the England Under 17 team and has done well. At centre half you cannot afford to make mistakes and you have to be in the right place at the right time. He has a maturity about his play and can join in and he can pass as well.

"It is a very refreshing experience because he is of an age where he has had four years in the academy and if this is the product of four years then I am looking forward to the next crop.

Howard's overall assessment: "In terms of young English players, we have not been in as healthy a position for years and years and years. We have a lot of talent with Premiership clubs and hopefully in the next five or six years they will get the opportunity and develop.

"You have to be patient and bring them on but you also need to expose them and challenge them as well. If they don't get it then they lose confidence and then they lose heart and we risk losing them altogether.

"People say ‘if they are good enough they will come through’ but some players take two games to come through while others take 22 games over a season and a half to come through. Zat night and Wayne Rooney are two good examples who have arrived in the first team by different routes."

We will watch all of their progress with interest and optimism.